Ex-MIS president Roger Curtis on track working for Gov. Rick Snyder

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Former track president Roger Curtis was back at Michigan International Speedway on June 18, 2017 in a new role as director of Michigan Talent and Economic Development for Gov. Rick Snyder.(Photo: George Sipple, DFP)

BROOKLYN — The winning smile was back at Michigan International Speedway. So was the Elvis suit, for one last appearance.

Former track president Roger Curtis returned to Michigan International Speedway this weekend but didn’t have any track responsibilities. Curtis’ tenure as president of MIS ended abruptly after 10 years just a couple days after the NASCAR race weekend at the track last August.

Curtis told a couple of reporters in a suite overlooking pit road on Sunday that it was good to be back at the track in his new role working for Gov. Rick Snyder as director of the Michigan Department of Talent and Economic Development.

Curtis was known for taking risks during his time in the Irish Hills. He started Faster Horses, a country music festival at MIS, to bring other events to the track besides the two annual NASCAR weekends.

Curtis said Snyder called him two hours after the news came out that he was stepping down as the track president to ask him to join his team.

“He loved what we did here, how we took a 2-mile ribbon of asphalt and turned it into a year-round entertainment destination with Faster Horses and Tough Mudder and beer and wine festivals,” Curtis said. “(Snyder) said ‘I just like the way you think out of the box and you’re not afraid to innovate and try new things.’

“We have a huge talent gap here in Michigan. We have about a 100,000 jobs we can’t fill now and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation just keeps bringing in new business to the state, which is great. But they all need workers. Right behind that is they all need housing. We need a lot more middle-class housing. There’s a huge shortage of that in the state, believe it or not. And so he asked me to come in and start thinking out of the box. It’s awesome.”

Curtis said he and IMS had different views on how to grow the track going forward.

830776246.jpg BROOKLYN, MI - AUGUST 12: Matt Crafton, driver of the #88 Ideal Door/Menards Toyota, leads the field past the green flag at the start of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series LTi Printing 200 at Michigan International Speedway on August 12, 2017 in Brooklyn, Michigan.
Brian Lawdermilk, Getty Images

830342290.jpg BROOKLYN, MI - AUGUST 11: Jennifer Jo Cobb, driver of the #10 Driven2Honor.org Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series LTI Printing 200 at Michigan International Speedway on August 11, 2017 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
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696622500.jpg BROOKLYN, MI - JUNE 16: Chase Elliott, driver of the #24 NAPA Chevrolet, looks on from the garage area during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on June 16, 2017 in Brooklyn, Michigan.
Brian Lawdermilk, Getty Images

“There’s no hard feelings,” Curtis said. “Everyone runs their business differently. Everyone’s style is very different.”

As much as a track president can be, Curtis became an entertaining figure to a segment of the loyal fan bases that plans summers around the two NASCAR weekends at MIS.

“It’s tough when you’re a running a movie theater and you can have the best seats and the best popcorn, but you’re still playing such a small role in the largest movie industry,” Curtis said, describing his former role as track president. “You can bring in different things to your theater. At some point, you’re still part of the movie industry. Just decided to go do different things.”

Curtis loved the race fans at MIS and that was evident in his return this weekend. He met with several that he became friends with over the years. He donned his traditional Elvis on Friday night.

“I thought it was a great way to send Elvis off one last time,” Curtis said. “The kids all got some sunglasses and scarves.”

Curtis said he wanted to return, in part, because of how things played out after the race last August.

“I knew I was going to come back and see all my friends,” Curtis said. “I didn’t really get a chance to say good-bye. It was Tuesday after the Pure Michigan 400 in August that all of this went down.

“Pure Michigan sponsors the race in August, so I knew how to get a couple passes.”

Curtis said he’s not planning to come to the August race because he’s a big fan of the L.A. Dodgers and they will be playing the Tigers that same weekend.

“Whether I’m here in August or not, I’ll always come back and see my friends,” Curtis said. “There’s a lot of fans out there I’ve become very, very good friends with.”

Curtis and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. hosted winning high school robotics teams from Canton and Kalamazoo in the MEDC suite at MIS on Sunday. Michigan will be hosting the world competition for the three years starting in 2018 at Cobo Center and Ford Field.

“Michigan has more FIRST Robotics teams than any other state,” Curtis said. “The governor is huge on it. He loves it.”

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Newman, who has an engineering degree from Purdue, spoke to the students before Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400.

“It is technology and teamwork,” Newman said about what the students are doing with robotics. “Probably more teamwork than technology, when it comes to some of the challenges they have to win their competitions.”